A magpie built a nest on a large apricot tree and hatched little chicks.
Soon the fox appeared and menacingly demanded:
- Throw the chick, otherwise I’ll cut down the tree! The magpie got scared and threw the chick to it.
On the second day the fox came again and repeated the threat:
- Throw the chick, otherwise I’ll cut down the tree!
The magpie felt sorry for the chick, but she was afraid of losing the entire brood, so she abandoned it and began to cry bitterly. A dog was walking by.
- What’s wrong with you, magpie, tell me your grief.
The magpie told her about the cruel fox who had already eaten two of her chicks.
- What a fool! - exclaimed the dog. - I wish I could
see what the fox will use to cut down the tree, perhaps with a long tail or yellow fangs! After all, she had never held a saw or an ax in her hands. Don't be afraid of the cheat and drive her away. On the third day the fox came again:
- Throw the chick, otherwise I’ll cut down the tree.
“Well, cut,” answered the magpie, “even with a long tail, or with yellow fangs!”
“I would like to see who taught you such words,” the fox grumbled.
“Look behind that tree,” the magpie teases her. A fox ran up to a tree, and a dog hid there. And the dog tore the cruel fox apart.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru